[zarzar]

Hi I am a 21 year old I want to start.a farm but wondered what, grants ect.help there is as I have experience with sheep,pigs,poultry, cattle goats ect, having run a small but successful smallholding before but I don't own land and I'm not from a wealthy family

[Coximus]

Access to land will be your problem - its almost impossible without £ and people tend not to rent land to people who dont already have some of their own (If they want rid of you at short notice... they like to know you have somewhere to take your animals! otherwise they could be stuck with you)

Best bet, is get work on a farm and make clear your ambition and in 3 years+ You may get some rented land.

As for grants - their are none for getting hold of land or these basic set ups, but may be some local to you for training etc.

Other option - get a job, save up, buy a field or two (Anything from £5000 - 20000 an acre depending on where you are)>

Once youve got 5-10 acres you shouldnt find it too hard to rent more

[moony]

We tried for a number of years to get a farm on a tenancy and despite being second choice 3 times and a lot of heartbreak never got one - as yet. We ended up buying a small bit of land and renting some but that involves a lot of travelling about to bits here there and everywhere. You can guarantee if something goes wrong at one parcel the one thing you need is the one thing you haven't got! The problem is renting land costs a premium if you are not known, so making a profit is near impossible. Once you are known to agents and farmers you will get a better deal. Around here most land is also in a stewardship, and in many cases those payments don't go to the tenant so its like a double whammy in that you are restricted but don't get the payment to compensate for that.

Best bet is as said above work for a farmer for a few years or save up. Whatever you think it costs to get farming treble it.

[Daleswoman]

I think you've already been given lots of good advice here. I would just add, don't ever give up on your dream - we have only just managed to acquire our smallholding at retirement age. We saved all through our working lives and kept the dream alive by reading and learning as much as possible. We were townies and our jobs and other circumstances prevented us from even living too far out in the countryside. However we now have a retirement project that will keep us happily occupied for another 30 years (I hope!).  One thing I have learned very quickly is how hard it is to make a living from farming - everyone round here seems to have second job of some kind to boost their cash income.

Good luck!

[Porterlauren]

Probably going to get shot down here!

But I don't think the advice here has been great to be honest.

If you are a new entrant, and you wish to get into farming in your own right, and make any money from it, then saving up to buy land is a total non-starter. I would imagine, being in Kent, the cost of ground, would be somewhere in the region of 8-10000 an acre. At that price, you will pretty much never make the ground pay for itself by farming it.

The only real option for folk like yourself, who want to farm their own stock, and make some cash. . . . is to rent ground, probably marginal ground. There are plenty of people out there with unused or under used little parcels. It's probably the only up side of the mass invasion of the countryside by townie 'good lifers', they buy 10 acres, stick a couple of nags on it and then realise they can't look after it. . . . . .

All of our ground is rented, on either short term or long term lets. Some we pay for, a lot is free. I basically refuse to pay for anything under about 10/20 acres, and that isn't fenced etc. The small parcels of an acre of two, would not be viable to pay for, but the might get some meat out of the deal. Or mostly they are just happy to have the land looked after.

I have found that generally people are not too bothered about what other land you have, as long as you come across as a smart, sensible and pleasant character, that is sympathetic to their (often daft) wishes. And once you have some, more will flood in. I had someone text me yesterday offering 6 acres, and another person appear on my drive also yesterday, telling me that some land by them had been given up by the long term tenant and that I should go ask about it. I've also got a meeting with a woman later abut a 30 acre chunk up the road.

If you want to make it work you can, but you need to work hard AND smart, get a good, slick system, and be realistic. It will take a lot to make a full living, but it can easily support itself and bring in a decent second income.

Good luck, you will need it, but it's do-able! We manage to make profit from sheep!

[Marches Farmer]

Consider what you can do and see if you can expand it to earn more in the short term. Can you shear?  There's a whole living to be made from that, shearing not only in the UK but also Scandinavia and the Antipodes.  How about shearing alpacas and llamas?  Takes longer and you need to be very careful but owners are used to huge bills for their stock and likely to be willing to pay far more than farmers.  If you have lambing experience put up an ad in your local market before Christmas or send one to the National Sheep Association for distribution among their members.  You are young enough to spend a couple of years building up experience and contacts and who knows what may arise as a result.

[Deere]

Hey Zarzar,

a slightly mixed response from people her but I think the last few posts are really what you need to be doing if you want to start out in your own right.

I started with five cade lambs two years ago on two acres of ''borrowed'' ground and have now got over 70 sheep and access to just over 20 acres.
Like Porterlauren, i've taken on all the bits and bobs here and there which no one else wanted and this has helped me get in the door. 
One of the parcels of land belongs to the Chatsworth estate, the estate farms have mostly been sliced up, the bulk of the land is farmed by the big farmers, the houses are rented out to the wealthy people who can afford to run the old style grand houses and the small parcels around the old yards with 1 and 2 acre paddocks end up either homing a pony or a couple of sheep which they eventually get fed up with and this is where someone like me gets a foot in the door.
I keep the paddocks in as best condition I can and weed/strim the shared entrance so that you build up a good relationship with the person renting the house after all these people have wealthy friends with similar houses and land! 
This may seem a lot of extra work but it makes you look serious to the landlord about keeping the place A1, its also led to some gardening work and the chance of some summer grazing for my tups, the cycle continues!

Whatever path you choose to go down, if your prepared to be flexible, work hard and do a nice tidy job of it you will eventually get some opportunities fall in your lap.

Good luck with your future in farming!

[zarzar]

Hi all thanks for responses, I have just been in contact with someone who owns four nd half acres ungrazed land that needs fencing they live 80 miles away but land bet us so perfect ndvery cheap rent due to fencing so fingers crossed, now what to put on it sheep or cattle lol prob be sheep for now to save.for some nice rare breed cattle hmmm maybe getting there as there is also two acres coming up down road from my horses x

[waterbuffalofarmer]

When i first started out I rented some land not far away from where I lived and kept my animals there. I only started to milk once I started to rent the farm I live on now. If you could find someone, ideally next door, or near to where you are and just start off with a few animals and then build up from that.
I found this link I hope it helps.
https://www.gov.uk/browse/business/farming/grants-and-payments-for-farmers
Can I ask, if you don't mind, whereabouts are you?

[Quirkygirl]

Very interesting points of view on Both sides. I can't give any advice as I'm in the boat of looking for land to rent. But the I have found it to be a mind field and don't know where to look. So any help and advice would be great too.

[verdifish]

When i first started out I rented some land not far away from where I lived and kept my animals there. I only started to milk once I started to rent the farm I live on now. If you could find someone, ideally next door, or near to where you are and just start off with a few animals and then build up from that.
I found this link I hope it helps.
https://www.gov.uk/browse/business/farming/grants-and-payments-for-farmers
Can I ask, if you don't mind, whereabouts are you?

And there was me thinking you lived with your parents